Brexit: Could be good for UK soccer

Article Written by : Futbol Mania

There are two top soccer leagues in the United Kingdom and Scotland. Combined they have 332 europeans in their teams. These are some of the best soccer players in the world. This is one of the reasons that the English Premier League is the most popular football league around the world.

This could all be undone or at least life will become a little harder due to Britain’s exit from the EU.

Ken Belson writes for The New York Times, it’ll give soccer in the UK a gigantic headache. “The biggest problem is the freedom of movement that European nationals have,” Belson tells PRI’s The World. “If Britain leaves [the EU], it will no longer have that movement. So it will be harder for English teams in the Premier League to get players from the continent.”

The other side of this coin is that this could be a boon to UK soccer players. “In soccer terms that would [mean] promoting English players and not having them compete as much, or have to compete as much with French and Spanish and other players.”

One of the other benefits is that it will level the playing field for players from other non europeans soccer playing nations:

“[They say] it’s a deregulation. It makes England less tied to one block of countries — meaning the EU. It allows all countries to compete for goods and services with England and vice-versa. So … [some say] this will make it easier for Americans to show up, or South Americans, or people from other places. So I don’t think there is a uniformity in that it is a nativist campaign.”

Belson quotes University of Michigan sports expert Andrei S. Markovits as saying: “Next to the Beatles and Rolling Stones, the EPL is the most successful English cultural export.”